The Contagious Diseases Acts were passed by the British Parliament in 1864, with further changes made in 1866 and 1869. They were a series of laws intended to prevent the spread of venereal disease in the armed forces. Under one of the provisions of the acts, women suspected of prostitution could be detained only on the basis of suspicion and without a fair trial. They would then be forced to undergo an invasive medical examination to check for venereal disease. If a woman was declared to be infected, she would be confined in a locked hospital until cured. The original act of 1864 stated that women suspected of being infected could be quarantined in “Lock Hospital” for up to three months, but by 1869, it was extended to a year.[i] Conditions in these locked hospitals were usually deplorable. The original act of 1864 only applied to a few selected naval ports and army towns, but by 1869 the acts had been extended to eighteen subjected districts. There was a particular fear that the spread of venereal disease would affect the military and that sexually transmitted diseases could possibly undermine Britain’s imperial might[ii]. As military men were often discouraged from marriage, and homosexuality was illegal, prostitution was considered a necessary evil by the lawmakers who passed the Contagious Diseases Acts. Lawmakers hoped to regulate it rather than get rid of it completely.[iii]
Repeal of Contagious Diseases Acts Outraged citizens campaigned to have the Contagious Diseases Acts repealed because they viewed the acts as misogynistic, since the laws did not require any of the suspected prostitute’s clientele to be forcibly examined. In 1869, the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts was established, but women were not allowed to join, causing the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts to be established by Josephine Butler. Both groups attracted the support of not only feminists, but also those who viewed the laws as morally wrong and in violation of basic civil rights.[iv] Due to the effort of both groups between 1870 and 1885, 17,365 petitions against the acts with 2,606,429 signatures were presented to the House of Commons, and over 900 meetings were held. Those fighting to repeal gradually won over public opinion on the issues surrounding prostitution and they highlighted the issue of hypocritical double standards in the Contagious Diseases Acts. In a victory for feminism and civil liberties the Acts were repealed in 1886. [v]
Background and Rise of Prostitution in Victorian England The Contagious Diseases Acts were “the single most controversial state intervention into Victorian sexuality.”[vi] A paradox of Victorian society is that the expectations for women of that time period ironically contributed to the rise in working class women turning to prostitution as a means of sustenance.[vii] During the later nineteenth century social reform became an increasingly public issue with a portrait of an ideal lady emerging. The idea of a woman as the "angel of the home" was a popular stereotype advanced by widely read works such as “The Angel in the House” by Coventry Patmore. This rise of the middle class domestic morality made it increasingly difficult for women to obtain work in certain professions, limiting women to such areas as factory work or domestic servants. All of these popularly accepted occupations for working women had long hours with very little pay.[viii] Low earnings led to some women resorting to prostitution to be able to provide for themselves and their families. A study from the late Victorian period showed that over 90% of prostitutes in Millbank prison were the daughters of "unskilled and semiskilled workingmen"; over 50% of these women had been servants, while the rest had worked other low-paying jobs such as laundering and street selling before discovering that prostitution was more profitable.[ix] Judicial reports of the years 1857 to 1869 show that prostitutes were more common in commercial ports and pleasure resorts and less so in working class manufacturing or industrial towns.[x] This is also evidence that clientele of prostitutes were often middle class men who were urged to put off marriage until they had established themselves professionally.[xi] The number or prostitutes in Victorian England was quite large in proportion to the population. The Westminster Review placed the figure between 50,000 and 368,000[xii], a number that would make prostitution the fourth largest female occupation for the time period. Police estimates of known prostitutes for the time paint a different story. However, the nature of the occupation makes it difficult to establish the exact amount of prostitutes in operation during the Victorian Period, and unreliability of statistics during the nineteenth century prevents one from knowing if prostitution was increasing or decreasing during this period. However, Victorian public opinion during the 1840s and 1850s held that both prostitution and venereal disease were increasing.[xiii]
A Few Examples of Prostitution and the “fallen woman” in Victorian Poetry “Jenny” by D.G. Rossetti “Goblin Market” by Christian Rossetti “A Castaway” by Augusta Webster
E.L./Eng335/WhittierCollege/Fall2012
Works Cited Adams, James Eli. "Victorian Sexualities." A History of Victorian Literature. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. 125-37. Print. Mason, Michael. The Making of Victorian Sexual Attitudes. N.p.: Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 1994. Print. Mason, Michael. The Making of Victorian Sexuality. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1994. Print. Vicinus, Martha. "A Study of Victorian Prostitution and Venereal Disease." Suffer and Be Still; Women in the Victorian Age. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1972. 73-90. Print. Walkowitz, Judith R. Prostitution and Victorian Society: Women, Class, and the State. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1980. Print.
Repeal of Contagious Diseases Acts
Outraged citizens campaigned to have the Contagious Diseases Acts repealed because they viewed the acts as misogynistic, since the laws did not require any of the suspected prostitute’s clientele to be forcibly examined. In 1869, the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts was established, but women were not allowed to join, causing the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts to be established by Josephine Butler. Both groups attracted the support of not only feminists, but also those who viewed the laws as morally wrong and in violation of basic civil rights.[iv]
Due to the effort of both groups between 1870 and 1885, 17,365 petitions against the acts with 2,606,429 signatures were presented to the House of Commons, and over 900 meetings were held. Those fighting to repeal gradually won over public opinion on the issues surrounding prostitution and they highlighted the issue of hypocritical double standards in the Contagious Diseases Acts. In a victory for feminism and civil liberties the Acts were repealed in 1886. [v]
Background and Rise of Prostitution in Victorian England
The Contagious Diseases Acts were “the single most controversial state intervention into Victorian sexuality.”[vi] A paradox of Victorian society is that the expectations for women of that time period ironically contributed to the rise in working class women turning to prostitution as a means of sustenance.[vii] During the later nineteenth century social reform became an increasingly public issue with a portrait of an ideal lady emerging. The idea of a woman as the "angel of the home" was a popular stereotype advanced by widely read works such as “The Angel in the House” by Coventry Patmore. This rise of the middle class domestic morality made it increasingly difficult for women to obtain work in certain professions, limiting women to such areas as factory work or domestic servants. All of these popularly accepted occupations for working women had long hours with very little pay.[viii] Low earnings led to some women resorting to prostitution to be able to provide for themselves and their families. A study from the late Victorian period showed that over 90% of prostitutes in Millbank prison were the daughters of "unskilled and semiskilled workingmen"; over 50% of these women had been servants, while the rest had worked other low-paying jobs such as laundering and street selling before discovering that prostitution was more profitable.[ix]
Judicial reports of the years 1857 to 1869 show that prostitutes were more common in commercial ports and pleasure resorts and less so in working class manufacturing or industrial towns.[x] This is also evidence that clientele of prostitutes were often middle class men who were urged to put off marriage until they had established themselves professionally.[xi] The number or prostitutes in Victorian England was quite large in proportion to the population. The Westminster Review placed the figure between 50,000 and 368,000[xii], a number that would make prostitution the fourth largest female occupation for the time period. Police estimates of known prostitutes for the time paint a different story. However, the nature of the occupation makes it difficult to establish the exact amount of prostitutes in operation during the Victorian Period, and unreliability of statistics during the nineteenth century prevents one from knowing if prostitution was increasing or decreasing during this period. However, Victorian public opinion during the 1840s and 1850s held that both prostitution and venereal disease were increasing.[xiii]
A Few Examples of Prostitution and the “fallen woman” in Victorian Poetry
“Jenny” by D.G. Rossetti
“Goblin Market” by Christian Rossetti
“A Castaway” by Augusta Webster
E.L./Eng335/WhittierCollege/Fall2012
Works Cited
Adams, James Eli. "Victorian Sexualities." A History of Victorian Literature. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. 125-37. Print.
Mason, Michael. The Making of Victorian Sexual Attitudes. N.p.: Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 1994. Print.
Mason, Michael. The Making of Victorian Sexuality. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1994. Print.
Vicinus, Martha. "A Study of Victorian Prostitution and Venereal Disease." Suffer and Be Still; Women in the Victorian Age. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1972. 73-90. Print.
Walkowitz, Judith R. Prostitution and Victorian Society: Women, Class, and the State. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1980. Print.
[i]Walkowitz 1
[ii] Adams 133
[iii]Mason 67
[iv] Vicinus 76
[v] Vicinus 77
[vi] Adams 133
[vii] Mason 47
[viii]Vicinus 81
[ix]Walkowitz 16
[x] Walkowitz 22
[xi] Mason 109
[xii] Vicinus 77
[xiii] Vicinus 80